Thompson Advances At Mid-Am

After pouring rain pounded the Greater Houston area throughout the morning, defending champion Carol Semple Thompson, 49, of

The championship is being conducted at the par-71, 6,068-yard Cypress Creek Course at Champions Golf Club.

Medalist Mary Ann Lapointe, 38, of Georgetown, Ontario, who secured a first-round victory on Monday, trails Kathy Hartwiger, 32, of Birmingham, Ala., by three holes through the 14th. The second round of match play will resume Wednesday at 8 a.m., while the third round is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m.

"I thought I was going to lose the match," said Thompson, who needed 20 holes to move past Connie Pifer, 35, of Lutherville, Md. "I certainly wa sn't expecting to win after I lost four holes in-a-row on the back side."

Burke, the 1997 U.S. Women's Amateur runner-up, was also forced beyond the 18th green. However she escaped elimination by defeating two-time U.S. Curtis Cup team member Patricia Cornett of Mill Valley, Calif., in 19 holes.

"Every time I have played Pat, she has dusted me," said Burke, wife of Champions' owner and former Masters winner Jack Burke Jr. "This is the first time I got past her."

Trailing by two approaching the par-4, 395-yard, 17th tee, Thompson, a two-time winner of this national championship for women age 25-and-older, extended the match after carding a bogey and her fourth three-putt in five holes. She then rallied with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4, 373-yard 18th to force the match to continue.

Winner of 17 Pennsylvania State Amateurs, Thompson sunk an eight-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to secure the victory. She faces Champions' member Jessica Durbin, 36, of Houston, in her second-round match.

Admission and parking is free for the general public for the national championship. All ages are welcome to attend.